[Anonymous]

One of my heavy handed crew recently snapped the handle off one of my Rutgerson rope clutches, probably due to my lack of lubrication. I have since found frequent application of silicon spray to the mechanism works wonders.

Whilst replacing the handle I discovered that the two through bolts that hold the three gang clutches together on the Starboard side could not be removed as they ran into the edge of the companion way sliding hatch frame – see photo. I thus had to remove the six setscrews which bolt the clutch bases to the boat, in order to allow clearance. This is all very well, albeit time consuming, in harbour but I imagine it would not be easy in a seaway as all three clutches would be out of action. I simply reversed the bolts when reassembling the clutch in case I have to change handles in future.

After considerable delays, I obtained spare handles from Marine Megastore Part number XM_178754. They now have a significant number in stock. The handle is listed as a specific item on their web page which makes me think that failures are not infrequent.
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[Anonymous]

Yikes… Thanks for the heads up on this Ron. I’ve noticed those handles don’t seem as solid as I’d like and flex sometime, so I’m not surprised to hear what happened to you. I’ll get my silicone spray out, as I’ve never done that.

Riyad

s/v Battuta (2009 B31)
Vancouver, Canada

[Anonymous]

@Battuta wrote:

I’ll get my silicone spray out, as I’ve never done that.

Sounds like a good idea whatever the brand of clutch set – my recommendation is though not to get any on the rope or jaws for obvious reasons!

[Author]

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